


The Motions

by Scarletr0se



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a slightly happy ending? sorry, Animal Death, Emotions, F/M, Hunters & Hunting, Romance, Spoilers, dealing with FEELINGS, romance spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 22:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3095642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarletr0se/pseuds/Scarletr0se
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Era Lavellan was never good at dealing with her emotions. After feeling too smothered by Skyhold she decides to go on a hunt and it proves more therapeutic than she'd hoped. Contains romance spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Motions

The drawing of the string. The flexing of the wood as it strained. She took her aim. The creak of the leather on the grip while she clenched it firmly. The wind rustling through the emerald tree tops. The breath brushing through her lips with an exhale to steady herself. ' _The veil is thin here. Can you feel it on your skin, tingling?_ ' The memory skipped across her mind. A face. _His face_. Her heart thumped a painful beat. The twang of the bow when her fingers loosed the arrow. The thwish as it hurtled towards the ram. The dull thud as it connected.

_I missed_. Except she hadn't. The arrow made contact with its shoulder, but it was unlike Era to never land a killing blow. It was enough to send the august ram into a full sprint to escape its predator. She would now have to pursue and creators be damned if she would let it escape. Era wiped droplets of sweat from her brow, righting the crimson strands that clung to her face. She lunged forward from behind the massive tree trunk and dashed after her prey.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Foliage crushed and ruffled beneath her feet with each footfall. _Creators damn him_. Was she not enough? _Why was she not enough_? Was she too Dalish? Too harsh? Too-- Era dove underneath the stray branch, bark scraping the tip of her right ear. She tumbled forth and up, never once breaking her stride.

‘ _You are unique_.’ The words choreographed an agonizing waltz in her mind. It had been weeks since he last uttered the word ‘Vhenan.’ Now she was merely his Inquisitor. _No, not his_. Not any longer. The thud of the ram’s hooves neared as she tailed it, his sprint was slowing. No doubt from the creeping pain of muscles twisted around the wooden shaft lodged between his shoulders. It wouldn’t be long before she was upon him. She never returned empty handed, and this time would be no different. ‘ _You have become important to me_.’ The ram jerked behind a towering tree to the left and it snapped her out of the memory.

She stumbled, tumbled, and rolled on the ground. A mixed cry of pain and frustration staggered past her lips. Era shuffled quickly back to her feet and resumed chase. Her will wavered when the emotions began to totter to the surface. Her control was slipping and damn him for it. Her vision blurred, the salt from the tears stung her eyes. The humidity weighed heavily on her chest and she felt smothered. It became hard to breathe. She channeled it. She had to or she would break.

‘ _For all they got wrong, the Dalish did one thing right_.’ The words sunk into her heart like a knife. They were so beautiful when he spoke them. Solas entranced her. His wisdom, his knowledge, his eyes. _Those eyes_. The grey-blue storm that raged behind them as he took revenge on the mages that bound his spirit friend. The softness that overtook them before they would kiss. The sadness as he pulled away. The guilt as she shoved him, begging him to tell her he didn’t care, that she was some casual dalliance, because the alternative hurt far worse.

Era leaped off a small ledge pursuing the hunt. ‘ _Hunt well_.’ Her foot displaced and splashed water from a puddle. Mud splattered against her ankles, but it didn’t phase her. Pebbles from the river bed displaced beneath her weight, crunching with each canter. Her hands tightened into fists, pumping at her sides. Solas was different that night. He felt at ease in Halamshiral and she found it almost seductive the way he reacted at court. They way he dismissed Celene’s death as a mere side effect, a consequence of playing the game. The way he danced with her. The way he made her feel softer, more feminine. The way she was so completely his.

The ram bounced across the river, breaths propelling from its snout. Breaths of pain. Breaths of fear. Breaths of his final moments. She chased it along the cliff ledge, pebbles still stirring underneath the pads of her bare feet. ‘ _Ar lasa mala revas_.’ Her heart jumped into her throat. It felt tight, her breathing faltered and from her lips it evoked a whimper. Her face was wet with a blended concoction of tears and sweat. The dampness settled around the vertical scar aslant her left eye. Another present the humans left in their wake. _Shemlens_. Her mind cursed and her lips curled into a sneer.

Era and the victim were fast approaching on a nearby clearing. It was there she would finish this. The elf sprung forward, sliding to a knee, her left leg outstretched in front of her for balance. She made quick work to knock the arrow. Her hand trembled as she fought back the swell of despair. _Focus_ , she commanded of herself. Era clamped her jaw and bit back the rest of the tears, taking aim. ‘ _You saw more than most_.’ She loosed the arrow with a sob.

The bleat of pain as the ram toppled to the ground. The arrow connected with its hind leg. It would be over soon. She rose from her position. The animal writhed on the ground as it tried to scramble to its feet. Era unsheathed her dagger and approached. “Ir Abelas, falon. Dareth shiral.”

The blood mixed, mingled, and diluted in the creek as the water ran coolly over her hands. She cleaned her blade, saturated from the fresh kill. The hunt was finished, as was she. Era leaned over the water and pooled it into her hands. She caught her reflection, distorted by the ripples. Her face was bare where the vallaslin had once marked her. _It was ironic_ , she exasperated. In removing the blood markings he would leave his own on her. Every time she would see her reflection she would now see him. He removed the markings from her face, but would forever be imprinted on her heart.

The water washed over her features, wiping clean and refreshing the heat that swamped her. ‘ _Ar lath ma, vhenan_.’ Her breath hitched and her body stiffened, hands still covering her face. ‘ _They made you_.’ Another wave broke on the dam of her heart. A whimper. ‘ _You are so beautiful_.’ A cry. Her hands trembled, her breathing labored. Lavellan traced her fingers over her lips. His kiss was so gentle, kind, and loving. She drowned in him and melded with his body as his arms pulled her close, held her, made her feel safe. The vision shattered what composure she had left, and her palms slapped in the water to hold her balance. The tears came bursting through the barrier and left marks in the creek, separating the thin pink of what blood had still been left associating with the stream.

‘ _You are free_.’

 

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: So I listened to Hallelujah by KD Lang while writing this and I hope it translated well. Era is the type to bottle up her emotions and push them down for duty’s sake. The only emotion she let herself feel after he left her was anger. She felt like Skyhold was crushing her inside its walls and she had to escape for a while. She did what any good Dalish elf would do-- go on a hunt.
> 
> Ir Abelas, falon. Dareth shiral. - I am sorry, friend. Journey safely.


End file.
